Fidelity
by RoseGoldRomantic
Summary: Thanos arrives to collect what is due him. What are you going to do in the wake of massive destruction? A Loki x reader taking place during Infinity War. Follow up fic to Tesseract, Lokasenna, and What Heroes Do.
1. Chapter 1

We stood, staring at each other for the longest ten seconds of my life. In a flash, Loki and I were in our room.

"(Y/N), I need you to listen very carefully." Loki said, grabbing my sword and tossing it to me. I nodded, strapping my sword on, watching Loki pace back and forth along the floor. I heard an alarm sound throughout the ship, and footsteps running as Asgardians rushed to defend their families.

"Thanos is on that ship. He wants two things." Loki stressed. "He wants me, and he wants the Tesseract. We don't want him having either, but if he gains the Tesseract, it could be devastating for you."

I nodded, gripping the pommel of my sword tightly. "Then let's make sure he doesn't get anything."

"That's my girl." Loki said, smiling for a brief moment. His armour shimmered on, his helm shining in the lights of our cabin. "I promise, I won't leave you again. I'll come back to you. No matter what happens, I'll return to you. Let's go."

As we appirated on the main bridge of the ship, Thor turned to yell at us from the controls as Asgardian civilians screamed and ran for cover..

"Took you guys long enough!" He shouted, trying to pilot our ship away from the Titan's massive vessel. "I've sent a distress signal out, you two go help Val get the people into the esc-"

Thor never finished that sentence. A massive explosion rocked the ship, knocking the three of us up against a wall. I looked up, my vision a swirling, blurry mess of people running and screaming, and others laying on the ground, dead.

"What the hell was that?" Thor said, right as a smaller explosion rocked the ship once more.

"Where's Bruce?" I yelled out, scanning for any sign of the scientist, or his green alter ego.

Loki's helm lay on the ground, blown off of his head by the explosion. As he stood up, he looked at me intensely. "I need you to remember what I said." he said, helping Thor and I to our feet. "I need you to hide. NOW."

I immediately turned invisible, hiding by a wall, convinced by the terror in Loki's voice. Heimdall ran in, calling out for Thor as he brandished the Bifrost sword to defend his King. The entire ship suddenly glowed bright purple, cracks appearing in the floor as the power cut out. Loki glanced to where I stood, fear in his eyes to an extent that I never thought possible. I remembered his interactions with the Chitauri, and shuddered as I awaited what would come next.

Four figures walked onto the bridge from a hallway, dimly lit by the emergency lighting. Three slender figures, taller than most people, followed by a tall, burly alien.

"If you've wondered what was worse than death, Odinson…" the tallest figure said to Loki, pressing his hands together, batting his hand in Heimdall's direction, sending the Asgardian flying head first into a wall. Another explosion rocked the ship, breaking the floor apart and sending the last of the Asgardian refugees sailing to the ground, "Now you know."

"Who are you?" Thor boomed, "What business have you with destroying my people?"

"We have no business with you, Thor." The figure continued, as he held out a hand, preventing the brothers from moving with some form of telekinesis, "I was speaking with the other Odinson. The one that made a deal with the great Titan years ago. His bill comes due."

"Leave my family alone, Maw." Loki breathed, fighting the grip that Maw had on the two of them, as the brothers were lifted up off of the ground.

"Thanos will be here soon." Maw continued, walking around the room. "I hope you have the price that was agreed upon."

Maw dropped them to the ground, a fifth figure coming into view. He was the size of the Hulk, his armor clicking with every step that he took.

"Time to pay, Odinson." Thanos growled, flexing his hand, showing off his large, golden glove. A bright purple stone glowed in its setting, the purple around the ship intensifying.

"He doesn't have anything!" Thor shouted, "We are merely on our way to earth, to seek refuge!"

Thanos stepped over to Thor, picking him up as Maw continued to hold Loki in place. "You have fire, Thor, son of Odin." Thanos said, holding Thor out at arm's length. "It will take time to break you. Watch the other, my children."

The purple stone in Thanos' glove glowed brightly, and Thor cried out as Thanos threw him to the ground. With a few swift punches to Thor's face, his body went limp, dangling from the Titan's hand like a ragdoll.

"Hear me, and rejoice. You have had the privilege of being saved by the great Titan. You may think this is suffering. No. It is salvation." Maw said, stepping over the bodies of dead Asgardians while he approached Loki and the other children of Thanos. "Universal scales tipped toward balance because of your sacrifice. Smile, for even in death, you have become children of Thanos."

"I know what it's like to lose." Thanos mused, walking slowly towards Loki, dragging Thor along the ground. "To feel so desperately that you're right, yet to fail nonetheless. It's frightening. Turns the legs to jelly. I ask you to what end? Dread it, run from it, destiny arrives all the same. And now it's here… or should I say I am."

"You talk too much." Thor grunted, too weak to move.

"The Tesseract, or your brother's head." Thanos said, pressing his glove to Thor's temple. "I assume that you have a preference."

"Oh I do." Loki said, his voice faltering ever so slightly, before his face turned stone cold. "Kill away."

Thanos sighed, the purple gem in his gauntlet glowing as the power flowed into Thor's skull. Screaming out, Thor batted helplessly at the Titan, too weak to stop the torture that was playing out.

Loki's face fell, his eyes showing his fear and concern for his brother. "Alright, Stop!" he shouted, voice cracking.

"We don't have the Tesseract." Thor breathed, "It was destroyed with Asgard."

Loki sighed, waving his hand to reveal the Cube.

"You really are the worst, brother." Thor moaned.

"I assure you, brother." Loki said calmly, "The sun will shine on us again."

"Your optimism is misplaced, Asgardian." Thanos said, setting Thor down.

"Well, for one thing, I'm not Asgardian." Loki said, withdrawing the Tesseract. "And for another, we have a Hulk."

The Hulk emerged from a hallway, leaping straight into Thanos. Loki dove to protect Thor, the Tesseract left to fall to the ground. The large, burly creature moved to help Thanos, but Maw held a hand up, stopping the alien from interfering.

"Let him have his fun." Ebony said, smiling grimly.

Thanos and the Hulk continued to fight, Hulk having the upper hand for a moment. It was turned on its head, as Thanos used the power stone in his gauntlet, overpowering the Hulk with ease. Thanos lifted the unconscious Banner high above his head, slamming the Hulk into the ground.

Loki nodded to Heimdall, who reached out for his sword weakly. "Allfathers, let the dark magic flow through me one last time." he breathed, calling the Bifrost to take the Hulk away.

"That was a mistake." Thanos said, nodding to one of the other figures.

She nodded back, using her spear to stab Heimdall clean through the heart, ending his life.

"No!" Thor roared, "You're going to die for that"

Maw gestured, tying Thor down with scraps of metal, placing one over Thor's mouth to prevent him from yelling any more.

"My humble personage, bows before your grandeur." Maw said, picking up the Tesseract. "No other being has ever had the might, nay, the nobility, to wield not one, but two, Infinity Stones." Maw handed the Tesseract to Thanos, kneeling before the Titan. "The universe lies within your grasp."

"No!" I shouted, becoming visible and running out besite Thor. "I will not let you take that. I cannot."

"Dear child, is that the Space Stone I see coursing through you?" Thanos mused, Loki's face falling at the sight of me. "I need that back."

He shattered the Tesseract in his hand, revealing a small, smooth, blue stone. He placed it in the gauntlet, a flash of power radiating out of the glove as the stone sank into place. He held out his hand, lifting me off the ground. My blood boiled, my body unable to move as flaming blue energy slowly seeped out of my skin. I screamed, the pain the only thing my brain was capable of thinking about. My head pounded, and my heart raced. As the last bit of energy was drawn out, I was dropped to the ground, my body shaking in shock.

"I'm sorry, little one." Thanos sighed, turning to his children.

"There are two more stones on Earth." he said, commanding. "Find them, my children, and bring them to me on Titan."

"Father, we will not fail you." the female said, kneeling slightly as she swore.

Loki moved over to me, kneeling. His eyes filled with sorrow, "I'm so sorry, my love." his breathed apology repeated. Now, battle worn and defeated, Loki held my face in his grasp, my tears sliding down his hands and wrists. Forcing me to look at him, he smiled a sad, longing smile.

"I want your face to be the last thing I see." He whispered. " I want to remember every detail, I want to remember your eyes, your lips…"

"Don't don't please don't." I begged. "Don't do this."

"I love you." he whispered once more, pressing a quick kiss to my forehead as he stood up.

"If I might, interject…" Loki's voice called, drawing everyone's attention. "If you're going to Earth, you might want a guide. I do have a bit of experience in that arena."

"If you consider failure, experience." Thanos countered, his tone condescending.

"I consider experience, experience." Loki insisted. "Almighty Thanos. I, Loki, Prince of Asgard…" Loki looked to Thor and I, his eyes pleading, almost begging something which I couldn't understand. A knife shimmered into existence in his hand, hidden behind him as he bowed slightly. "Odinson, the rightful King of Jotunheim, God of Mischief, do hereby pledge to you, my… undying... fidelity."

Loki jabbed his knife upwards, aiming for the Titan's head. But the Titan simply flexed his gloved hand, Loki frozen in place by the stone's power.

"Undying." Thanos scoffed, "You should choose your words more carefully."

Thanos picked Loki up by his neck, slowly squeezing. I screamed, my body refusing to allow me to stand and run to his defense, my energy depleted thoroughly. I didn't even notice the slight green glow my skin now had, my mind too busy trying to figure out how to save my fiance.

"You… will never be… a God." Loki spat out, his face turning purple from lack of air. Thanos squeezed tighter, and the snap of Loki's neck sent my stomach straight down to the pits of Hel. My throat let out a guttural scream, Thor fighting against his restraints as Thanos walked over, still dangling Loki from his neck.

"No resurrections this time." Thanos said, dropping Loki in front of me. The space stone glowed in his glove, a portal opening for the group to leave through. Thor's restraints fell as soon as Maw had left, and we both sobbed. I reached over to grab Loki's helm, intending to place it on his head. Once I had grabbed it, the green glow from my skin intensified, and became so bright I couldn't see. I yelled out, my voice hoarse and torn in grief. I gripped the horns of Loki's helm, my world swallowed in bright white light before I passed out.


	2. Chapter 2

I awoke, my body in so much pain I wasn't sure I was even alive. A harsh, bright light beat down on my face, and I raised my arm weakly to shield my eyes from the warm onslaught.

"The small one is waking up!" a deep voice said, my eyes still trying to adjust to the light.

"Don't touch her!" a feminine voice warned. "We don't want whatever that was to happen again."

"Yea!" another masculine voice agreed, "We're here to help the distress signal, not send out our own."

"She's in anguish!" another female voice said, "Something horrible must have happened to her."

I groaned, forcing myself to sit up and look around me. I was inside someone's ship, several people staring at me. A green woman, tall and slender, a female alien with antennae protruding from her forehead, a raccoon that seemed capable of walking upright, a sentient tree, a human man, and an alien with the physique of a wrestler.

"Who are you people?" I asked, my brain still foggy. I clutched Loki's helm a little closer, reminded of when I had taken it. "What happened?"

"We could ask the same thing of you." the raccoon said.

"Yea, who are you?" the human man said, "and who's the big guy?"

I looked over to where he was gesturing, and Thor lying unconscious on a table just like I had been.

"How the hell are you and this dude still alive?" the man asked.

"He's not a dude, Quill." The muscular alien said, "You're a dude. This is a MAN. A handsome, muscular man."

"I'm muscular, Drax." Quill rebutted, his voice wavering. "Right, Rocket?"

"Who are you kidding, Quill?" the racoon laughed, "You're one sandwich away from fat."

"Yeah, right." Quill responded, before realizing what had actually just been said. "What? Drax? Mantis?"

"It's true." Drax said, "you have put on a little weight."

"Gamora," Quill asked, turning to the green woman, "Do you think I'm?"

Gamora paid him no mind, instead studying Thor closely. Mantis placed her hands on him, closing her eyes as her antennae glowed.

"He is anxious." She said, "Angry. He feels tremendous loss and guilt."

"It's like a pirate had a baby with an angel." Drax said, everyone gazing at Thor as he rested.

"Wow, this is a real wake-up call for me." Quill said, still fixated on the comments about his physique, "Okay, I'm going to get a Bowflex. I'm going to commit, I'm going to get some dumbbells."

"You know you can't eat dumbbells, right?" Rocket snickered.

Gamora ran her hand down Thor's arm, her fingers gently rubbing his bicep. "It's like his muscles are made of Cotati metal fiber…"

"Stop massaging his muscles." Quill said, then turning to Mantis. "Wake him up."

Mantis nodded, placing a hand on Thor's head. "Wake."

Thor violently gasped, sitting bolt upright. I slid off of my table, hobbling over to place a calming hand on him, the group of people raising their weapons in defense. Thor breathed heavily, looking all around him, his eye ending on me.

"Where are we?" he asked, then turned to look at the group in front of us. "Who the hell are you guys?"

"Who are we?" Quill scoffed, "We're the Guardians of the Galaxy! I'm Star Lord, this is Gamora, Drax, Rocket, Groot, and Mantis. You can also call me Peter Quill. Star Lord is better though."

"I've never heard of any of you." I said, standing straighter. "How did you know to come here?"

"We got a distress signal." Rocket said.

"We wanted to see if we could help." Gamora said, "We see now we are too late."

"Who are you? What happened?" Mantis asked, "Why do you both mourn so strongly? Why did you almost kill us?" She queried, pointing at me.

"Yea!" Quill added, "We're just trying to help you, and you freaking try to blow us up when we grabbed you!"

"I am Thor, son of Odin, last king of Asgard." Thor said, rubbing his hand. "This is (Y/N) Colson, my sister-in-law. We were piloting a ship to take my people to refuge on earth, when Thanos came and destroyed us. (Y/N)'s reaction was simply a defense placed by my brother before he was killed." My eyes watered, my breathing ragged, as if Thor's words had torn open a fresh wound and poured salt on the raw flesh. Even when he was about to die, Loki's last thought had been to protect me. To make sure that I would be safe, despite being stripped of the Tesseract.

"If Thanos came for you, you had something he needed." Gamora said.

"You know him?" I asked, slowly reaching for my sword.

"The entire time I knew Thanos, he only ever had one goal: to bring balance to the Universe by wiping out half of all life." Gamora said solemnly, "He used to kill people planet by planet, massacre by massacre. Including my own. If he gets all six Infinity Stones, he can do it with the snap of his fingers, just like this." She said, snapping her own fingers.

"You seem to know a great deal about Thanos." Thor said cautiously.

"Gamora… is the daughter of Thanos." Drax said.

"Your father killed my brother." Thor said angrily, standing and walking up to Gamora, his face nearly touching hers.

"Oh boy." Rocket said, moving away from the conflict.

"Stepfather." Quill said, trying to place himself between Thor and Gamora. "Technically. She hates him as much as you do."

Thor's expression softened. "Fathers can be tough." he said gently. "Before my father died, he told me I had a sister, that he imprisoned in Hel. Then, she returned home, and stabbed me in the eye… and destroyed my home. So… I had to kill her."

"It's life," Quill added, trying to distract Gamora. "There's nothing else."

"And I feel your pain." Thor finished.

"I feel your pain, as well." Quill said, desperately trying to keep Gamora's attention. "I mean, it's not a competition, but I've been through a lot. My father killed my mother, then I had to kill my father. And that was hard. Probably even harder than having to kill a sister. Plus, I came out with both of my eyes."

Thor looked around as Quill continued ranting, placing his hand on my shoulder with a comforting squeeze. Thor walked over to a small display screen, fiddling with the buttons on it.

"What are you doing?" Rocket asked.

"Taking your pod." Thor said, waving me over to join him.

"No, you're not." Quill said, changing his voice to mock Thor's. "You'll not be taking our pod today, sir."

"Uh… Quill?" Rocket asked after a pause, "Are you making your voice deeper?"

"No." Peter defended, keeping up the voice change.

"You are!" Drax exclaimed, laughing. "You're imitating the god-man."

"No, I'm not!" Quill insisted, his voice remaining in the deep-pitched mockery.

"He just did it again!" Mantis said.

"This is my voice!" Quill stressed.

"Are you mocking me?" Thor asked, his voice tired as he stepped up to face Peter.

"Are you mocking _m_ e?" Peter countered, his voice straining to imitate Thor's.

"You just did it again." Thor sighed.

"He's trying to copy me." Quill laughed.

"Enough!" I shouted, having had enough of the stupid game. "We need to stop Thanos, which means we need to find out where he's going next."

"Knowhere." Thor said.

"He must be going somewhere." Rocket said.

"No." Peter said to his crew, returning his voice to normal. "Knowhere? It's a place. We've been there, it sucks." Peter turned back to see Thor gathering various food things, placing them in a bag.

"Excuse me, that's our food." Rocket said, irritated.

"Not anymore." Thor said, his voice impatient.

"Why would he go to Knowhere?" Gamora asked.

"Because for years, the reality stone has been safely stored there, with a man we call the Collector." Thor answered, closing his bag.

"If it's with the Collector, then it's not safe." Peter said, "Only an idiot would give that man a stone."

"Or a genius." Gamora said.

"How do you know he's not going after one of the other stones?" Quill asked.

"There's six stones out there." Thor explained. "Thanos already has the Power Stone, because he stole it last week when he decimated Xandar. He stole the Space Stone from us, when he destroyed my ship, killed my brother, and slaughtered half my people. The Time and Mind stones are safe on Earth. They're with the Avengers."

"The Avengers?" Quill scoffed.

"They're Earth's Mightiest Heroes." Thor clarified.

"Like Kevin Bacon?" Mantis asked, causing me to snicker, despite my sadness.

"He may be on the team, I don't know." Thor admitted, "I haven't been there in a while. As for the Soul Stone, no one's ever seen that. No one even knows where it is. Therefore, Thanos can't get it. Therefore, he's going to Knowhere. Hence, he'll be getting the Reality Stone. You're welcome."

"Then we have to go to Knowhere now." I said, Gamora nodding.

"Wrong." Thor said. "Where we have to go, is Nivadellir."

"That's a made up word." Drax said.

"All words are made up." Thor countered.

"Nidavellir is real? Seriously? I mean, that place is a legend!" Rocket said excitedly. "They make the most powerful, horrific weapons to ever torment the universe. I would very much like to go there, please."

"The rabbit is correct, and clearly the smartest among you." Thor said.

"... Rabbit?" Rocket mused, clearly confused at Thor's mislabeling.

"Only Eitri the Dwarf King can make me the weapon I need." Thor said, turning to Rocket. "I assume you're the captain sir?"

"You're very perceptive" Rocket said, smiling.

"You seem like a noble leader." Thor said. "Will you join me on my quest to Nidavellir?"

"Let me just ask the captain." Rocket said, glancing around. "Oh wait a second, it's me. Yeah, I'll go."

"Wonderful." Thor said, handing me the bag that he had prepared. "Let's go."

"Uh, except for I'm the captain." Quill said, trying to regain control of the situation.

"Quiet." Rocket said.

"That's my backpack!" Peter said, gesturing to the bag in my hands.

"Go sit down." Rocket insisted.

"Look, this is my ship and I'm not going to - wait.." Quill said, faltering. "wh-what kind of weapon are we talking about here?"

"The Thanos-killing kind." Thor said firmly.

"Don't you think we should all have a weapon like that?" Peter asked.

"No. You simply lack the strength to wield them." Thor said, "Your bodies would crumble as your mind collapsed into madness."

"Is it weird that I wanna do it even more now?" Rocket smiled.

"A little bit, yeah." I said, hoisting the bag onto my back.

"If we don't go to Knowhere and Thanos retrieves another stone, he'll be too powerful to stop." Gamora cautioned.

"He already is." Thor said.

"I got it figured out. We got two ships and a large assortment of morons." Rocket said. "So me and Groot will go with the pirate-angel and the space mine here, and the morons will go to Knowhere to try to stop Thanos. Cool? Cool."

"So cool." Thor said, smiling for a brief second.

"For the record.." Quill said to Rocket. "I know you're only going with him because that's where Thanos isn't."

"You know you really shouldn't talk that way to your captain, Quill." Rocket said, patting his chest. "C'mon Groot. Put that game down, you'll rot your brain."

The sentient tree simply stood, continuing to play his handheld game as we stepped into the pod.

"I bid you farewell and good luck morons. Bye." Thor said, waving to the rest of the Guardians.


	3. Chapter 3

We fastened ourselves into the pod, breaking free of the larger ship. Thor sat in silence, closing his eyes. I sat next to him, patting his back gently. Thor let out a large sigh, turning to me.

"I can't believe that he's really gone this time." He whispered, his voice ragged. "As much as he has fooled me in the past, as much as he's lashed out in response to his slights, both imagined and valid, I would be a fool and a liar to say that I don't miss him dearly."

"I'm so sorry." I whispered in return, giving him a gentle side hug as tears rolled down both of our faces. "I can only imagine what you must be going through after what happened on the ship. So many of your people..."

"Our people." Thor corrected, "You have every bit as much of a right to call Asgard your home. You lived there, learned there…" he placed his hand on my knee. "You also are my brother's beloved. I can't thank you enough for being the constant in his life that he needed. I had seen so much change in him since meeting you, and though he would relapse, he always came back around. Especially when it was important. He truly loved you. You are my family, and the only family I have left in this world, until I reach Valhalla. I am grateful to have you by my side."

"I wouldn't dream of being anywhere else." I said, smiling through my tears. "You deserve vengeance for the destruction of everything you fought so hard to preserve."

"We both do." He said, squeezing my shoulder, running his hand along the curve of a horn on Loki's helm as he stood up.

"Rabbit, do you know where we need to go?"

"No." Rocket responded. "It would be fantastic if you could give me the heading, your burliness."

Thor moved over to give Rocket directions, and I sat back in my chair, slowly rubbing the helm with my thumb. My heart ached, and I felt hollow. The sickening sound of Loki's neck breaking repeated in my ears over and over, each time strengthening my resolve. I would find Thanos, and with Thor's help, I would end him.

"I am Groot." the tree said, looking to Rocket.

"Tinkle in the cup." Rocket replied. "We're not looking for… Everybody's seen your twig!"

"I am Groot!" Groot responded angrily.

"You can pour what's in the cup out in space," Thor replied. "Then go in the cup again."

"You speak Groot?" Rocket asked, shocked.

"Yes, they taught it on Asgard." Thor replied, "It was an elective."

"I never got around to learning that." I grumbled.

"It wasn't commonly taught," Thor said, "At least not to the public."

"I am Groot?" Groot whined.

"You'll know when we're close." Thor said, staring off into the vastness of space. "Nidavellir's forge harnesses the blazing power of a Neutron Star. It's the birthplace of my hammer; it's truly awesome."

Thor walked to the back of the ship, and Rocket sighed. "Ok, time to be the captain." he grumbled, placing the ship on auto pilot. "So, dead brother, huh? That can be annoying."

"Well, he's been dead before." Thor replied, "But this time… I think it really might be true."

"And you said that your sister," Rocket continued, "And your Dad…"

"Both dead." Thor sighed.

"But, still got a Mom, though?" Rocket asked, trying to remain optimistic.

"Killed by a Dark Elf." Thor replied.

"Best friends?"

"I have one left. The other was stabbed through the heart in front of me." Thor said quietly.

Rocket's face winced, "You sure you're up for this particular murder mission?"

"Absolutely." Thor said, his resolve strong. "The rage, vengeance, anger, loss, regret, they're all tremendous motivators. They truly clear the mind." He said, smiling slightly before adding, "So, I'm good to go."

"Yeah, but this is Thanos we're talking about," Rocket countered, "he's the toughest there is."

"Well, he's never fought me." Thor said.

"Yes he has!" Rocket said, exasperated.

"Well, he's never fought me TWICE." Thor clarified, and I shook my head. "And, I'll have a new hammer, don't forget."

"Well, it'd better be some hammer." Rocket muttered.

"You know, I'm 1,500 years old. I've killed twice as many enemies as that, and every one of them would have rather killed me, but none succeeded." Thor said. "I'm only alive because Fate wants we alive. Thanos is just the latest in a long line of bastards, and he'll be the latest to feel my vengeance. Fate wills it so."

"...and what if you're wrong?" Rocket asked.

"If I'm wrong, then…" Thor trailed off.

"What more could we lose?" I finished.

"I could lose a lot. Me, personally. I could lose a lot. " Rocket muttered under his breath. "Ok. Well, if fate does want you to kill that crapsack," Rocket added, walking up to his bag in the cockpit, "you need more than one stupid eyeball."

Rocket handed Thor a small object, and Thor examined it.

"What's this?" Thor asked, turning the object over to view it better.

"What does it look like?" Rocket responded, "Some jerk lost a bet with me in Contraxia."

"He gave you his eye?" Thor asked.

"No, he gave me 100 credits." Rocket replied, "I snuck into his room later that night and stole his eye."

Thor removed his eye patch, grimacing as he slid the replacement animatronic eye into place.

"Thank you, sweet rabbit." Thor said.

"I would have washed that." Rocket warned, then muttering under his breath something that I could not hear.

We pulled out of hyperspace, slowing down as we approached what looked like a space station floating slowly.

"Hey, we're here!" Rocket said, pointing to the station.

"I don't think this thing works." Thor said, smacking the side of his head in an attempt to right the new eye, "Everything seems dark."

"But it ain't the eye." Rocket said.

"Something's wrong." Thor said, leaning closer to get a better view. "The star's gone out. And the rings are frozen."

We landed in one of the frozen rings, cautiously leaving the pod to explore. The entire place seemed deserted, a long, empty room filled with unused weapon molds, the floor littered with hundreds of scraps and other pieces of metal.

"I hope these dwarves are better at forging than they are at cleaning." Rocket said, kicking a small scrap that was by his foot. "Maybe they realized they live in a junk pile in the middle of space."

"The forge hasn't gone dark in centuries." Thor said, his tone foreboding.

I froze in my tracks, my eyes fixated on a mold in front of me. Rocket glanced up, seeing the weapon mold that I was so focused on.

"You said Thanos had a gauntlet, right?" Rocket asked, getting Thor's attention.

"Yes. Why?" Thor replied, turning to look at the raccoon.

"Did it look anything like that?" Rocked said, pointing to the mold.

"Get back to the pod." I whispered, my entire body tensing.

"If that's the gauntlet mold…" Rocket said, "Where are all the people that made it?"

"That's what I want to know." Thor said. "Eitri would be the last one to want to leave this place, but I see no sign of anyone being here at all."

Without warning, Thor was tossed across the room, a giant's arm swinging down as they tried to send us flying as well.

The giant marched towards Thor, fists raised.

"Eitri, wait!" Thor yelled, wincing as the giant prepared to punch, "Stop!"

"Thor?" Eitri asked, confused. "Thor is that really you?"

After a pause, the giant backed away, sliding down to sit against a wall.

"What happened here?" Thor asked.

"You were supposed to protect us." Eitri breathed. "Asgard was supposed to protect us."

"Asgard has been destroyed." I said, moving over to stand by Thor.

"Eitri," Thor asked softly, "What did you do?"

"300 dwarves lived on this ring." Eitri began, "I thought if I did what he asked, they'd be safe. I made what he wanted. A device capable of harnessing the power of the stones. And he killed everyone anyway. All, except me. 'Your life is yours.' he said, 'but your hands, your hands are mine alone.'" the dwarf held up his hands, which had been turned to solid metal by the Titan.

"Eitri, this isn't about your hands." Thor said, "Every weapon you've ever designed, every axe, hammer, sword, it's all inside your head. Now, I know it feels like all hope is lost…" Thor looked over to me, before returning his gaze to Eitri, "Trust me, I know. But together, you and I, we can kill Thanos."

The dwarf sat for a long time, staring at his metal hands. With a sigh, he stood up slowly.

"Come with me." Eitri said, "I have exactly what you need."

The dwarf led us to a long table and he hauled out a large, rectangular box, that seemed to be made of stone.

"This is the plan?" Rocket said, gesturing to the large mold that had been placed on the table. "We'll hit him with a brick?"

"It's a mold." Eitri said angrily. "A King's weapon. Meant to be the greatest in Asgard. In theory, it could even summon the Bifrost."

"Does it have a name?" I asked, looking at the intricate designs in the outside of the mold.

"Stormbreaker." the dwarf replied.

"Yea." Rocket said, "It's a bit much."

"So, how do we make it?" Thor asked.

"You'll have to restart the forge." Eitri said, "Awaken the heart of the dying star."

"Rabbit." Thor said, "Fire up the pod."


	4. Chapter 4

Rocket tossed me his radio, then climbed into the pod with Thor, and they sped off to get the rings spinning again. I stayed with Groot, helping Eitri with the things he needed dexterity to complete. We placed the mold under the pot of what would soon be molten metal, aligning the opening so nothing would be wasted.

"I don't think you get the scientifics here." Rocket said to Thor, "These rings are gigantic. You wanna get them moving, you need something bigger than this pod to yank them loose!"

"Leave that to me." Thor replied.

"Leave it to you?" Rocket scoffed, "Buddy, you're in space. All you got is a wrong plan…"

Rocket's chiding was cut off by his screaming, and I looked out to see Thor swinging the pod around off the end of a cable like it was no heavier than a bowling ball. Thor stopped spinning, the pod flying outwards.

"Fire the engines!" Thor shouted, and Rocket immediately did, flame pouring out of the pod in its attempt to move the rings.

"More power, Rabbit!" Thor shouted, the strain in his voice easily heard.

With a groaning shudder, one ring began to move. Then another. And soon they were all moving, the star in the center slowly beginning to glow once more.

"Well done, boy." Eitri said.

"That's Nidavellir!" Thor shouted happily, pointing to the star.

The star's heat and energy was sucked in to the forge, beginning to heat the metal we needed to forge the new weapon. But, as soon as it had begun, the star's power was cut off, the forge going cold once more.

"Damn it." Eitri said.

"What's damn it?" I asked, approaching him.

"The mechanism is crippled." he replied.

"What?" Thor asked, his voice grainy through the radio.

"With the Iris closed," Eitri replied into my radio, "I can't heat the metal!"

"How long will it take to heat it?" Thor asked.

"A few minutes, maybe more." the dwarf replied. "Why?"

"I'm going to hold it open." Thor said, flying towards the star.

"That's suicide!" Eitri cautioned.

"So is facing Thanos without that axe!" Thor countered.

Thor landed in the iris mechanism, standing for a moment as he gathered strength.

"You understand, boy?" Eitri said, "You're about to take the full force of a star. It'll kill you."

"Only if I die." Thor said.

"Yes, that's what killing you means." Eitri sighed.

Thor took one last deep breath, before pulling the iris open, the full flaming force of the star searing his back on its way to the forge. The heat funneled to the metal vat, slowly starting to melt all of the ingots within.

"Hold it, hold it, Thor!" Eitri yelled out.

Eitri and I stood, waiting for the ingots to melt completely with baited breath. The second the last corner submerged into the molten metal, Eitri becan pouring it into the mold. I glanced up to see the iris closing, Thor rocketing towards the forge uncontrollably, limp as a rag doll.

Thor came bursting through the forge, rolling to a stop on the ground. I dashed over to check on the Asgardian as Eitri cooled the axe.

"Thor?" I said, slapping his face in an attempt to wake him. "Say something, come on!"

"Thor, you okay?" Rocket said, having arrived back in the pod. We both sat there, attempting to revive the unconscious man. Eitri began pounding on the mold with his fists, shattering the mold in an attempt to free the axe.

"I think he's dying!" Rocket said, and I began to try cpr, tears streaming down my face. I couldn't lose Thor now, not after everything.

"He needs the axe!" Eitri shouted, breaking the last of the axe blade free. "Where's the handle? Tree! Help me find the handle!"

Eitri tore the forge asunder, desperately trying to find the axe's handle. Groot stared at the blade, then at Thor. Tossing his video game aside, Groot extended his arm, his fingers elongating to wrap around the Axe, his arm thickening to make a sturdy handle. With a shout, Goot chopped off the portion of his arm that he had just grown out, Stormbreaker dropping to the ground heavily.

Thor's fingers opened, and Stormbreaker began to hover off of the ground, electricity arcing in all directions. I backed away, not wishing to be hit with the electrical surge. The axe flew into Thor's outstretched hand, a blast of lightning striking that was so large, I was knocked back into the pod. Thor stood, electricity arcing off of him.

"We must leave to Earth, now." Thor said. "Thanos has either captured the reality stone and headed there, or he has arrived there without it in an attempt to collect the other two stones. I shall summon the Bifrost, and we shall face Thanos with renewed strength. Prepare for battle."

I scrambled inside the pod, grabbing my sword and Rocket's gun. I snagged Loki's helm, placing it on my head so that I would not forget it. I ran out, handing Rocket his gun.

"Thank you for your help, Eitri." Thor said.

"Go, Asgardians." Eitri said, "Go to your friends. Make Thanos weep for the day he chose to slaughter my people. And your own."

Thor nodded solemnly, and Rocket climbed up to Thor's shoulder. I drew my sword, bracing myself against Thor as he summoned the Bifrost with Stormbreaker. As we were shot through the cosmos, my mind couldn't help but wander to the last time I had traveled the rainbow bridge. A part of me wanted to laugh sadistically, longing for a time when I only _thought_ I had been separated from Loki forever. With the actual separation standing before me, it all seemed so trivial now.

"We're approaching Earth!" Thor called out, raising Stormbreaker. I nodded, taking a deep breath and preparing for what might await on Earth.

We arrived on the surface, surrounded by two armies clashing. African warriors fought alongside the Avengers, bringing down Chitauri-like creatures together.

I saw Dr. Banner, inside an enormous suit of Iron Man armor, laughing. "Oh, you guys are so screwed now!" he laughed.

Electricity continued to arc off of Thor, Rocket leaping off to the ground, gun readied. Thor looked to Rocket, Groot, and I, nodding before running forwards, electricity increasing. Rocket, Groot, and I followed, raising our own weapons as we ran alongside the God of Thunder.

"Bring me Thanos!" Thor cried, taking a running leap off of the ground. Lightning surrounded Thor with an intensity that I had never seen before, his eyes glowing white hot as he struck the ground with Stormbreaker. A shockwave of lighting shot out as it struck the ground, bringing down all of the enemies that stood within a hundred foot radius of the Axe's strike.

We continued to run forwards, Rocket heading off to assist someone away from our group. As we continued to fight, we encountered Steve Rogers, who had since I last saw him, grown a beard and longer hair.

"New haircut?" Steve said, gesturing to Thor.

"I notice you've copied my beard." Thor said, smiling at his friend. "Oh, by the way these are friends of mine. This is the sister of Coulson, and this is my other friend. A tree."

"I am Groot!" Groot shouted back, sending his arm through several enemy creatures.

"I am Steve Rogers." Cap answered back, too tired to bother asking how a tree could talk.

Steve ran off in another direction, headed towards Black Widow, as Groot ran to fight with Rocket. Thor threw Stormbreaker into the ground once more, again sending a devastating wave of electricity into the enemy's ranks.

I was nearly blinded by a flash of green tinted light, and was immediately wrapped up in the tightest embrace I had ever felt. My nose breathed in a familiar scent, and my mind went blank.

"Brother?" Thor asked, even his voice sceptical.

"I've missed you." Loki murmured into my neck. "I couldn't find you after the explosion of the ship, I thought you might be dead. I was trying to find you, but I couldn't feel anything until I realized my helm was gone, and that you must have taken it. I followed it, and here it is…" he said, leaning back from the embrace. "Here you are." he whispered, a smile spreading across his face.

"We will talk later, Brother!" Thor shouted, shoving a creature away. "You have a lot of explaining to do. Make yourself useful!"

Loki nodded, knives shimmering into his hands. "Let us avenge Asgard."


	5. Chapter 5

Loki and I fought back to back, an unstoppable team. We moved across the battlefield, taking down as many of the mindless creatures as we could.

We eventually made our way over to Steve, who was surrounded by several of the creatures. He was fighting valiantly, but he was quickly becoming overwhelmed. I dashed forwards, tackling two aliens, Steve falling backwards onto the ground. Steve raised his hands in defense as another alien pounced, but the alien never met Steve's shield. Loki shoved the creature off his blades, then held a hand out for Steve to grab.

"Captain." Loki nodded as Steve accepted his help, standing up.

"Loki." Steve replied, returning Loki's nod with confusion plastered across his face. Before he could have time to process what he was seeing, he held his hand up to his earpiece. He looked up to Loki and I, repeating what he had just heard.

"We have a problem." he said, "One of ours, Vision, has the mind stone, and Thanos is coming to get it from him. He's wounded, and we need to defend him. Come with me?"

"Show us where." Loki said, "No one shall touch him."

"Follow me." Steve said, running off to a more densely wooded area. Loki and I followed, Loki using bursts of magic to take down aliens as we ran. There were fewer creatures here, but in their stead was one of Thanos' closest followers. Loki ran forwards, leaping on top of the figure and removing him from on top of Vision.

"Corvus!" Loki shouted, brandishing his knives to the creature. "Leave this place!"

"I see that you once again have cheated what has long been coming, Asgardian." Corvus replied. "I'll see you cheat it no longer!"

Corvus went in to jab at Loki, but was stopped by Cap's own blow to Corvus' face. Cap, Loki, Corvus and I all exchanged blow after blow. Eventually, we were able to disarm him, sending his lance soaring across the forest floor. I was thrown down with it, unable to help as Steve was knocked to the ground, Corvus attempting to kill him. Loki picked up Corvus' own weapon, turning around to run the alien through with it.

Loki tossed the weapon aside, panting.

"Thank you." Steve said, panting as well.

"Vision!" a woman cried, running towards the man laying on the ground. "Are you alright?"

"Wanda, please." Vision said, holding her hand as she frantically searched for something to help him with.

Dr. Banner approached, the suit of armour now missing an arm.

"He's here." Vision panted, glancing around fearfully.

As if cued by Vision's words, a portal opened in the forest nearby, the mad Titan himself stepping out, space stone glowing in the gauntlet as the portal snapped shut behind him.

"Cap." Bruce said, the armor encasing his head once more, "That's him."

"Eyes up." Steve said, engaging his new shield. "Stay sharp. You three, protect Vision." Steve said, gesturing to Wanda, Loki and I.

We encircled Vision, as Bruce ran towards Thanos. The Titan simply flexed his gloved hand, causing bruce to pass right through him, only solidifying the scientist once he was partially trapped in a rock formation nearby. Steve ran up next, but before he could get within arm's reach, the power stone threw him up against a tree. A figure leapt from the shadows, a solid black suit with silver claws the only glimpse I could see of him before Thanos threw him to the ground like a sack of potatoes.

"Wanda." Vision breathed, "It's time. Destroy the stone."

"No." Wanda whispered.

"They can't stop him, Wanda." Vision insisted. "But we can. Look at me. You have the power to destroy the stone."

"Don't…" She cried, tears streaming down her face.

"You must. Please." Vision pleaded. "We are out of time."

"I can't." She sobbed.

"Yes, you can. You can." Vision said, trying to calm Wanda. "If he gets this stone, half the universe dies. It's not fair. It shouldn't be you, but it is."

Wanda continued to insist on not destroying the stone, but my attention was drawn by Thanos' approach. Loki moved first, and I followed, praying that we were able to stop the Titan before the gauntlet was completed.

"You lived." Thanos mused, staring at Loki in surprise. "You're craftier than even I gave you credit for." glancing over to me, he smirked. "And she lived too. You're a hardy group, you Asgardians. It almost makes me sorry to destroy more of you."

"You will destroy no more." Loki hissed, "The things you and yours have done to me have stripped me of my title, my home, my parents, and my people. You will NOT take any more from me. You will NOT take my family."

"For all the things you learned from this stone…" Thanos said, the space stone glowing in the gauntlet, "For all the things it showed the both of you, neither of you ever saw this inevitable end? And to think I thought you were of use at one time."

He raised his fist, Loki and I both floating off of the ground, unable to move. Thanos gestured, throwing both of us into a tree, winding both of us. Steve had since recovered, running up and catching Thanos off of his guard. Thanos's gloved hand was stopped dead in its tracks, Steve using his full strength to hold the Titan's hand still. Thanos rolled his eyes, punching Steve in the face with his other hand, knocking the super soldier out cold.

Wanda had begun trying to destroy the Mind Stone, red energy flowing into Vision's forehead. She stood, weeping as Vision knelt, allowing bits of the Mind Stone's power to flake away in the onslaught. Thanos stepped closer, and Wanda used her other hand to blast him with as much energy as she could muster, struggling to continue both at once.

With a blast of golden energy, the Stone in Vision's head exploded, knocking Wanda and Thanos back with it's power. Wanda laid on the ground, sobbing for the man she had just lost.

"I understand, my child." Thanos said sadly. "Better than anyone."

"You could never." Wanda spat back, shirking away from Thanos' outstretched hand.

"Today, I lost more than you can ever know." Thanos said. "But now is no time to mourn. Now…" Thanos trailed off, holding up the glove and activating the green stone. "Is no time at all."

With a turn of his wrist, Thanos rewound Vision's death, the stone re-assembling itself in his forehead.

"No!" Wanda cried, helpless to do anything as Thanos ripped the stone from Vision's forehead. Vision collapsed to the ground, color draining as sparks came out of the crater in the android's head.

Loki reached out to me, holding me close to his side under the small shelter of foliage. Thanos placed the Mind Stone into his gauntlet, shouting as a surge of energy went up his arm, to his neck.

"No!" Thor's voice boomed from the sky.

Thanos looked up, using the gauntlet to fire a beam of energy towards the Asgardian king. Stormbreaker continued its decent, slicing through the gauntlet's beam until it struck the Titan. It buried itself in his chest, Thor landing shortly afterwards.

"I told you…" Thor said, placing a hand on the axe, "You'd die for that."

Thor pressed the axe further into Thanos' chest, the Titan crying out in pain. Loki and I slowly stood, fear and hope mixing as we watched Thanos take another shallow breath.

"You…" the Titan choked out, "You should have gone for the head!"

Thanos raised his hand, and Loki, Thor, and I all shouted at once as the Titan snapped his fingers.


	6. Epilogue: Ashes to Ashes

"What did you do?" Thor screamed at Thanos, staring at the sizzling infinity gauntlet, "What did you do?"

Thanos used the space stone, falling back into a portal, leaving Stormbreaker in the dirt.

"Where did he go?" I asked, leaning on Loki for support.

"Steve?" Bucky called out, dropping his gun.

I couldn't believe what I was seeing. Bucky began disintegrating, from the bottom up. He reached out as he fell, turning completely to ash before falling to the forest floor. Steve stumbled over, reaching out to touch the nothingness that had once been his friend.

"Oh no." Loki breathed. "No. It can't…"

"He won." I said, my voice cracking, tears filling my eyes, "He did it, and we couldn't stop him."

"(Y/N)" Loki said, his voice wavering. I turned, horrified at what my eyes were showing me. Flakes had slowly started to come away from Loki's body, turning the same color as Bucky's.

"Brother!" Thor said, coming over to where Loki and I stood, trying to help me support Loki's now wavering stance.

"No, no, no!" I cried, sinking to my knees, rubbing my thumb across Loki's cheek as Thor lowered him to the ground. "I can't lose you again, I just can't."

"It seems you must." Loki breathed, a sad smile breaking across his face. "Don't worry about me, love. Brother, I'm truly sorry. I'm sorry I was never the brother I should have been for you. (Y/N), I'll be waiting for you, waiting for the day I can just lift you back up into my arms. Thank you for coming into my life and showing me joy, thank you for loving me, and allowing me to love you in return. I love-"

Loki turned to dust in my arms, unable to finish his sentence as Thor fell to his knees beside me. I felt as if my heart had been torn from my body, and then turned to ashes much like what had happened to Loki. I turned to Thor, who wrapped me up in his arms as I sobbed openly.

Thanos had won, and I had been destroyed for the last time.

"Thor?" I gasped through broken sobs.

"Yes?" he answered, his own voice heavy and cracking.

"Promise me, that we will find that bastard." I said, anger creeping into my voice.

"We will." Thor said, squeezing me tighter to his chest. "And we will avenge. Avenge Asgard, Avenge Earth, and Avenge Loki."


	7. Epilogue: Dust to Dust

Author's note! I spent a LONG TIME trying to pick which one to do, and Decided that I couldn't! So I posted both! Tell me which one you like better! It might just help me decide how to proceed into the second IW Fic when I write it!

O~O~O~O~O

"What did you do?" Thor shouted at Thanos, gesturing to the sizzling infinity gauntlet, "What did you do?"

Thanos groaned, flexing his hand in the gauntlet. The Space Stone activated, opening a portal immediately behind the Titan. Thanos leaned back, falling back into the portal. As soon as he fell through it, the portal closed, leaving Stormbreaker to fall to the dirt below.

"Where did he go?" I asked, leaning into Loki's chest for support.

Loki opened his mouth, about to speak when he was interrupted by Steve's best friend.

"Steve?" Bucky called out in confusion, dropping his gun.

My mind reeled as I took in what was happening. Bucky began to disintegrate, flakes rising off of him as his feet completely turned to dust. He reached out to Steve as he fell, turning completely to ash before falling to the forest floor. Steve stumbled over, reaching out to touch the nothingness that had once been his friend.

"Oh no." Loki breathed. "No. It can't…"

"What is happening?" I asked, "What just happened?"

"(Y/N), no…" Thor murmured.

"What?" I asked, holding out a hand.

I swallowed hard, seeing my own skin begin to flake as Bucky's just had.

"No." Loki whispered, setting me down on the ground, kneeling beside me. "No, I've only just found you again. It can't end like this, you can't leave me you can't-"

I pressed my lips to his, holding him as tightly as I could. He held me in silence, looking up to his brother in fear.

"I'm scared." I breathed. "What's going to happen?"

"I don't know, my love." Loki answered, his voice cracking. "But you'll be alright." he lied. "You're my brave little Valkyrie, remember?" He said, trying to comfort me as he ran his hand through my hair.

"Loki?" I breathed.

"Yes?"

"I love you." I whispered, closing my eyes as I breathed in his scent for the last time. "I always will."

When I opened my eyes once more, they were met with bright yellow light.

"(Y/N)?"


End file.
